by Robert Barclay

“ Yea, what are comedies but a studied complex of idle and lying words? Let men that believe their souls are immortal, and that there will be a day of judgrnent, in which these words of Christ will be accomplished, answer me, how all these will make account in that great and terrible day, of all these idle words that are necessarily made use of about dancing, gaming, carding, and comedies acting? And yet how is it that by Christians not condemning these things, but allowing of them, many that are accounted Christians take up their whole time inthem, yea, make it their trade and employment? ”

“ And if a man be clothed soberly, and without superfluity, though they may be finer than that which his servant is clothed with, we shall not blame him for it: the abstaining from superfluities, which his condition and education have accustomed him to, may be in him a greater act of mortification than the abstaining from finer clothes in the servant, who never was accustomed to them. As to the country, what it naturally produces may be no vanity to the inhabitants to use, or what is commonly imparted to them by way of exchange, seeing it is without doubt that the creation is for the use of man. ”

“ If the profanation of the holy name of God; if to exact oaths one from another upon every light occasion; if to call God to witness in things of such a nature, in which no earthly king would think himself lawfully and honourably to be a witness, be the duties of a Christian man, I shall confess that our adversaries are excellent good Christians, and we wanting in our duty: but if the contrary be true, of necessity our obedience to God in this thing must be acceptable.
If to revenge ourselves, or to render injury, evil for evil, wound for wound, to take eye for eye, tooth for tooth ”

“ VIII. Fourthly, Let us consider the use of games, sports, comedies, and other such things, commonly and indifferently used by all the several sorts of Christians, under the notion of divertisement and recreation, and see whether these things can consist with the seriousness, gravity, and Godly fear, which the gospel calls for. Let us but view and look over the notions of them that call themselves Christians, whether Papists or Protestants, and see if generally there be any difference, save in mere name and profession, from the heathen? ”

“ And James tells us, that fighting proceeds from the lusts. So that it were fitter for Christians, by the Sword of God's Spirit, to fight against their lusts, than by the prevalency of their lusts to destroy one another. Whatever honour any might have attained of old under the Law this way, we find under the Gospel Christians commended for suffering, not for fighting; neither did any of Christ's disciples, save one, offer outward violence by the sword, in cutting off Malcus's ear; for which he received no title of honour, but a just reproof. ”

“ Yet that they may not want something to detract us for, cease not to accuse us for those things, which, when found among themselves, they highly commend; thus our gravity they call sullenness; our seriousness, melancholy; our silence, sottishness. Such have been vicious and profane among them, but by coming to us have left off those evils, lest they should commend the truth of our profession, they say, that whereas they were profane before, they are become worse, in being hypocritical and spiritually proud. ”

“ Because we tell people, that it is the light and law within, and not the letter without, that can truly tell them their condition, and lead them out of all evil; hence they say, we vilify the scriptures, and set up our own imaginations above them. Because we tell them, that it is not their talking or believing of Christ's outward life, sufferings, death, and resurrection, no more than the Jews crying, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, that will serve their turn, or justify them in the sight of God ”

“ For who will force another to swear, of whom he is certainly persuaded that he abhors to lie in his words? And again, as Chrysostom and others say, For what end wilt thou force him to swear, whom thou believest not that he will speak the truth? ”

“ First, We say, That God, who is the Creator of man, and he to whom he oweth the dedication both of soul and body, is over all to be worshipped and adored, and that not only by the spirit, but also with the prostration of the body. Now kneeling, bowing, and uncovering [37] of the head, is the alone outward signification of our adoration towards God, and therefore it is not lawful to give it unto man. He that kneeleth, or prostrates himself to man, what doth he more to God? He that boweth, and uncovereth his head to the creature, what hath he reserved to the Creator? ”

“ As to what relates to the present magistrates of the Christian world, albeit we deny them not altogether the name of Christians, because of the public profession they make of Christ's name, yet we may boldly affirm, that they are far from the perfection of the Christian religion; because in the state in which they are, (as in many places before I have largely observed,) they have not come to the pure dispensation of the gospel. And therefore, while they are in that condition, we shall not say, That war, undertaken upon a just occasion, is altogether unlawful to them. ”

“ Ye have heard that it has been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy: but I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. ”

“ Seeing the chief end of all religion is to redeem men from the spirit and vain conversation of this world and to lead into inward communion with God, before whom if we fear always we are accounted happy; therefore all the vain customs and habits thereof, both in word and deed, are to be rejected and forsaken by those who come to this fear; such as taking off the hat to a man, the bowings and cringings of the body, and such other salutations of that kind, with all the foolish and superstitious formalities attending them ”

“ And if this be not the honour that comes from God, but the honour of this world, which the children of this world give and receive one from another; how can the children of God, such as are Christians indeed, give or receive that honour among themselves, without coming under the reproof of Christ, who saith, that such as do cannot believe? But further, if we respect the cause that most frequently procures to men these titles of honour, there is not one of a thousand that shall be found to be, because of any Christian virtue ”

“ Thirdly, It lays a necessity upon Christians most [15] frequently to lie; because the persons obtaining these titles, either by election or hereditarily, may frequently be found to have nothing really in them deserving them, or answering to them: as some to whom it is said, Your Excellency, having nothing of excellency in them; and he who is called Your Grace, appears to be an enemy to grace; and he who is called Your Honour, is known to be base and ignoble. I wonder what law of man, or what patent ought to oblige me to make a lie, in calling [16] good, evil; and evil, good? ”

“ Certainly reason ought to teach every one, that it is not lawful to make void a general prohibition coming from God by such opposition, unless the exception be as clearly and evidently expressed as the prohibition: neither is it enough to endeavour to confirm it by consequences and probabilities, which are obscure and uncertain, and not sufficient to bring quiet to the conscience. ”

“ The iniquity lies then here, First, When from a lust of vanity, and a desire to adorn themselves, men and women, not content with what their condition can bear, or their country easily affords, do stretch to have things, that from their rarity, and the price that is put upon them, seem to be precious, and so feed their lust the more; and this all sober men of all sorts will readily grant to be evil. ”

“ From whence many of the present Christians (so accounted) are become so perverse, in commending most wicked men, and wicked customs, that the simplicity of the Gospel is wholly lost; so that the giving of men and things their own names is not only worn out of custom, but the doing thereof is accounted absurd and rude by such kind of delicate parasites, who desire to ascribe to this flattery, and abuse the name of civility. Moreover, that this way of speaking proceeds from a high and proud mind, hence appears; because that men commonly use the singular number to beggars, and to their servants ”

“ The lightness of men, and their inconstancy, begot diffidence; for which swearing was sought out as a remedy. Basil the Great saith, That Swearing is the effect of sin. And Ambrose, That oaths are only a condescendency for defect. Chrysostom saith, That an oath entered when evil grew, when men exercised their frauds, when all foundations were overturned: that oaths took their beginning from the want of truth. These and the like are witnessed by many others with the fore-mentioned authors. But what need of testimonies, where the evidence of things speaks itself? ”

“ Who then needs further to doubt, but that since Christ would have his disciples attain the highest pitch of perfection, he abrogated oaths, as a rudiment of infirmity, and in place thereof established the use of truth? Who can now any more think that the holy martyrs and ancient fathers of the first three hundred years, and many others since that time, have so opposed themselves to oaths, that they might only rebuke vain and rash oaths by the creatures, or heathen idols, which were also prohibited under the mosaical law ”

“ Now the necessary occasions in which all are involved, in order to the care and sustentation of the outward man, are a relaxation of the mind from the more serious duties; and those are performed in the blessing, as the mind is so leavened with the love of God, and the sense of his presence, that even in doing these things the soul carrieth with it that divine influence and spiritual habit, whereby though these acts, as of eating, drinking, sleeping, working, be upon the matter one with what the wicked do, yet they are done in another Spirit ”

“ Mil. asketh, Shall it be lawful to use the sword, the Lord saying, That he that useth the sword, shall perish by the sword?
Ninthly, Because the apostle admonisheth Christians, [119] That they defend not themselves, neither revenge by rendering evil for evil; but give place unto wrath, because vengeance is the Lord's. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink. But war throughout teacheth and enjoineth the quite contrary. ”

“ Now for man to delight himself in that which is the fruit of his iniquity, and the consequence of his sin, can be no ways lawful for him: so to extend things beyond their real use, or to superadd things wholly superfluous, is a manifest abuse of the creation, and therefore not lawful to Christians. ”

“ But because men cannot trust one another, and therefore require oaths one of another, it will not therefore follow that true Christians ought to do so, whom Christ has brought to faithfulness and honesty, as well towards God as one towards another, and therefore has delivered them from contests, perfidies, and consequently from oaths. ”

“ Because when we hear them talk foolishly of heaven and hell, and the last judgment, we exhort them to come out of the hellish condition they are in, and come down to the judgment of Christ in their own hearts, and believe in the light, and follow it, that so they may come to sit in the heavenly places that are in Christ Jesus: hence they maliciously say, that we deny any heaven or hell but that which is within us, and that we deny any general judgment ”

“ But how can they be found in the obedience of this precept that plead for the use of these games and sports, who, it seems, think the time so long, that they cannot find occasion enough to employ it, neither in taking care for their souls, nor yet in the necessary care for their bodies; but invent these games and sports to pass it away, as if they wanted other work to serve God in, or be useful to the creation? The apostle Peter desires us, To pass the time of our sojourning here in fear, 1 Pet. ”

“ Is it not rather time that all good men should labour to remove this abuse and infamy from Christians?
Lastly, They object, This will bring in fraud and [99] confusion; for impostors will counterfeit probity, and under the benefit of this dispensation will lie without fear of punishment.
I answer, There are two things which oblige [100] a man to speak the truth: First, Either the fear of God in his heart, and love of truth; for where this is, there is no need of oaths to speak the truth; or, Secondly, The fear of punishment from the judge. ”

“ Secondly, When men are not content to make a true use of the creation, whether the things be fine or coarse, and do not satisfy themselves with what need and conveniency call for, but add thereunto things merely superfluous, such as is the use of ribbons and lace, and much more of that kind of stuff; as painting the face, and plaiting the hair, which are the fruits of the fallen, lustful, and corrupt nature, and not of the new creation, as all will acknowledge. ”